When Prime Minister Stephen Harper hosts dinner tomorrow evening at the High Country Inn, he and his political guests may hear the chants of local day care workers waving placards outside the hotel.

Cyndi Desharnais, president of the Yukon Child Care Association, said today local child care workers, parents and others are planning to hold a rally during the dinner to draw attention to the serious problem facing the Yukon day care industry.

They will try to keep the event as tranquil as possible, she told the Star.

'We need to keep it peaceful; that's the field we're in.'

But that won't stop the rally from sending a clear message to the prime minister and Yukon politicians at the dinner: that early child care in the Yukon needs help now.

'The Yukon does not need more (day care) spaces; we need to sustain the spaces we have We need to see money going into wages,' said Desharnais.

She repeated the message she and other day care workers gathered to send last week at a news conference at Yukon College.

They said day care workers are not getting paid enough to keep them around and that many are leaving to work at higher-paying service industry jobs.

They can make more money there as unskilled workers than they can as accredited child care educators at local day cares, reporters were told.

'We need affordable, accessible and high-quality child care all of Canada actually,' Desharnais said.

She advocates a national child care program, like the one the Liberals proposed but never initiated before losing power early this year.

'One hundred dollars a month is great for parents that basically have no income,'Desharnais said.

She was referring to the Conservative government's universal child care program. She added that for working parents, much of that money will be clawed back in taxes and may even put parents into a higher income tax bracket.

She said it does not help child care workers, although it may help stay-home moms.

� 'A hundred dollars; what is that going to get you nowadays?'

She expects more than 100 people will show up for the rally.

'We will try and be as peaceful as possible.'

Representatives of the Public Service Alliance of Canada plan to join the child care association at the rally, Desharnais said. An alliance spokesperson wasn't immediately available for comment.

Desharnais noted many area day cares are in desperate need of staff and face critical shortages by the end of the month.

The rally will take place from 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. Wednesday at High Country Inn on Fourth Avenue.

See more on Harper's visit, p. 5.